Cal's harshest critics have probably been slow to give him some of the credit he has deserved for doing good things but nobody in the basketball world believes he's one of the better X's and O's coaches out there. If you take issue with this just know that you're in a distinct minority. He's had good games, he's had good seasons, but Cal's genius is supposed to be winning the offseason. Building the roster that beats you down. It looked like he had done that, but injuries got in the way and they didn't finish strong.
No question, the head coach has to bear a lot of responsibility for that. The level of dysfunction on the UK sideline yesterday was visible. Everybody's talking about it for a reason. It was odd to see Calipari and Chin Coleman going back and forth like that. Kentucky played scared, which is how Calipari and the others on the sideline looked. It was the quietest, least dialed in bench that I saw in all the NCAA tournament games I've watched to this point. That's an embarrassment to the program. UK prided itself on being a professional organization for most of the Calipari era. Last night it looked like a sad shell of that.
I'm sensing resignation and bewilderment from BBN today. Resignation that no matter how upset, frustrated, or down you are about last night, how the season fell apart, how those frustrations were added to the previous year's, Calipari is still going to be the coach next season. He probably will be unless he walks away on his own. I'll say it's interesting, this resignation. UK has failed to win a tournament game three times since the '12-13 season. More often than not during that time UK has not been in the Sweet 16.
Bewilderment because it looked like Calipari had perfectly addressed the issues from the previous year. He brought in shooters (one got hurt, one struggled to get open/didn't peak at the right time), he brought in a point guard who could create, he brought in a true post player, the offense was more exciting for much of the year, etc.
The issues this year were different than the issues last year. Last year was just them not being very good. This year was about not peaking at the right time, the injuries, and Calipari's nervous energy on the bench serving as quite the contrast to the much cooler, calmer, more collected Shaheen Holloway.
What would it take for you to feel like Kentucky is justified in exploring other options? If next season goes exactly like this season -- they look good for long stretches, don't peak late, and lose early -- is that enough? Tubby didn't have one of the best five year runs in program history but he did have a title, three more Elite Eights, a couple of teams that could have won it, and he never missed the tournament.
I can't help but assume Calipari's last 6-7 years have been basically replacement level. I'm not saying most coaches would have done better, but some probably would have, and some would have done worse. It's just hard to imagine that 9-16, first round loss, Round of 32 loss, Sweet 16 loss, and no Final Fours during that time is something that people are willing to tolerate now when I distinctly remember the tone and fury during the Tubby era.
Being candid, I have no more confidence in Calipari's ability to mold a modern college offense and coach them well enough in the tournament to win a title. The Tubby era ended because a majority of reasonable fans came to believe he could not acquire enough talent to win a championship. I think it's fair to question if Calipari is a good enough bench coach to win a championship unless he has an overwhelming amount of talent. In other words, is Calipari capable of building a team that is talented enough to win in spite of him?
If Kentucky returns Oscar, succeeds in the portal again, and Sharpe plays, then next year is worth getting really excited about. Could be a title chase. I'm not going to throw Wheeler completely under the bus because he is clearly a flawed point guard but he was one of the better point guards in the country for much of the season. I'd still trust him more than Hagans but it's fair to wonder about the impact of your point guard next year not being someone the other team guards.
I'll acknowledge all the wonderful things Cal has done for Kentucky basketball but it's a really bad spot when your fan base has lost confidence in your coach's ability to coach a team to tough wins.
No question, the head coach has to bear a lot of responsibility for that. The level of dysfunction on the UK sideline yesterday was visible. Everybody's talking about it for a reason. It was odd to see Calipari and Chin Coleman going back and forth like that. Kentucky played scared, which is how Calipari and the others on the sideline looked. It was the quietest, least dialed in bench that I saw in all the NCAA tournament games I've watched to this point. That's an embarrassment to the program. UK prided itself on being a professional organization for most of the Calipari era. Last night it looked like a sad shell of that.
I'm sensing resignation and bewilderment from BBN today. Resignation that no matter how upset, frustrated, or down you are about last night, how the season fell apart, how those frustrations were added to the previous year's, Calipari is still going to be the coach next season. He probably will be unless he walks away on his own. I'll say it's interesting, this resignation. UK has failed to win a tournament game three times since the '12-13 season. More often than not during that time UK has not been in the Sweet 16.
Bewilderment because it looked like Calipari had perfectly addressed the issues from the previous year. He brought in shooters (one got hurt, one struggled to get open/didn't peak at the right time), he brought in a point guard who could create, he brought in a true post player, the offense was more exciting for much of the year, etc.
The issues this year were different than the issues last year. Last year was just them not being very good. This year was about not peaking at the right time, the injuries, and Calipari's nervous energy on the bench serving as quite the contrast to the much cooler, calmer, more collected Shaheen Holloway.
What would it take for you to feel like Kentucky is justified in exploring other options? If next season goes exactly like this season -- they look good for long stretches, don't peak late, and lose early -- is that enough? Tubby didn't have one of the best five year runs in program history but he did have a title, three more Elite Eights, a couple of teams that could have won it, and he never missed the tournament.
I can't help but assume Calipari's last 6-7 years have been basically replacement level. I'm not saying most coaches would have done better, but some probably would have, and some would have done worse. It's just hard to imagine that 9-16, first round loss, Round of 32 loss, Sweet 16 loss, and no Final Fours during that time is something that people are willing to tolerate now when I distinctly remember the tone and fury during the Tubby era.
Being candid, I have no more confidence in Calipari's ability to mold a modern college offense and coach them well enough in the tournament to win a title. The Tubby era ended because a majority of reasonable fans came to believe he could not acquire enough talent to win a championship. I think it's fair to question if Calipari is a good enough bench coach to win a championship unless he has an overwhelming amount of talent. In other words, is Calipari capable of building a team that is talented enough to win in spite of him?
If Kentucky returns Oscar, succeeds in the portal again, and Sharpe plays, then next year is worth getting really excited about. Could be a title chase. I'm not going to throw Wheeler completely under the bus because he is clearly a flawed point guard but he was one of the better point guards in the country for much of the season. I'd still trust him more than Hagans but it's fair to wonder about the impact of your point guard next year not being someone the other team guards.
I'll acknowledge all the wonderful things Cal has done for Kentucky basketball but it's a really bad spot when your fan base has lost confidence in your coach's ability to coach a team to tough wins.
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